Electric blanket sewing machine



Aug. s, 195o c.; JAoHNsoN ErAL ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE I 8Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13. 1946 Aug'. s, 195o c. E. JoHNs-oN s'rAl.2,518,147

Y ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Filed Sept. 15. 1946 8 Sheets-Sheet 2c. E. JoHNs'oN EIA'.

ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Aug. s, 195o Filed spt. 1s. 194e wwwIII. Ill

8 Sheets-Sheet 4 C. E. JOHNSON ETAL ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Aug.8, 1950 Filed Sept.. 13,

Aug. 8, 1950 c. E. JoHNsoN Erm.

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Filed Sept. 13, 1946 Aug. 8, 1950 c. E. JoHNsoN Erm.

ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Fileasept. 1s, 194e' I 8 Sheets-Sheet 6c. E. JoHNsoN E-rAL ELEc'rRIc BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Aug. 8, 1950 8Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Sept. 13, 1946 fm y,

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hluIIlIIIrI .Il u F n n. III|IIIU|IIIIIIP|H |UI|H|I.I|I""IIII "Ils"II.IIIIIIIII|| fd. III |11 II IIIIII" I. l.. "IIIIIIIIIIIFIIII III III!A \\...||.||||ll IlllIIIIIIIIIIIIrII IIIIIIIIIIILIIIII. IIIIIII. IQ 8 nI l I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I II\N| fl C E JOHNSON ETAL ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWING MACHINE Aug. s, '195o'Filed Sept. 15, 1946 Patented Aug. 8, 1950 ELECTRIC BLANKET SEWINGMACHINE Charles E. Johnson, Richmond, Va., and Edward E. Woller,Kenosha, Wis., assignors to Simmons Company, a corporation of DelawareApplication September 13, 1946, Serial No. 696,850

19 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to a machine for manufacturing an electricblanket which embodies a pair of relatively superposed plies of textilefabric and electrical conductors or cables between said textile plies.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a machine forassembling the textile plies of the blanket and uniting them accordingto a predetermined pattern to form pockets or channels for the requiredelectrical wiring; to provide such a machine whereby the textile plieswill be united in such a manner that the uniting means will be concealedwithin the blanket; to provide a machine of the character indicated withmeans for inserting or placing the required wiring in the blanketbetween the plies thereof; to provide equipment of the characterindicated which will be substantially automatic in its operation andwhich will require a minimum amount of attention from an operator; and,to provide equipment of the character indicated which will operate athigh speed and in a substantially trouble-free manner.

Other objects of the invention will be understood by reference to thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings (8 sheets) whereinthere is illustrated ione example of the type of blanket to be producedby the machine, and 9, selected form of machine for producing theblanket.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the right-hand end of the structure asshown in Fig. 1, and on a, somewhat larger scale than Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan section of the right-hand end portion of the machine,approximately on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section approximately on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a plan section of the left-hand end portion of the machinemore or less corresponding to the right-hand end plansection shown inFig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a plan section on the line 8--8 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 9,

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 9--9 of Fig 71 Fig. 10 is afragmentary section on the line Ill- I0 of Fig. 9,

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a blanket of the characler to be produced bythe machine illustrated, an

Fig. 12 is a sectionV in the plane of the line II-II of Fig. 10.

The electric blanket which is to be produced by the machine, consists oftwo plies I and 2 of suitable woven textile material and an electricalcable 3 interposed between the blanket plies I and 2 as best representedin Fig. l1. The electrical cable 3 consists, in this instance, of twowires, one of which is wound about the other and the cable is run backand forth lengthwise of the blanket in a more or less zigzag fashion asshown in Fig. l0. Terminal portions of the cable emerge from the blanketin a suitable flexible cord portion 4 having suitable terminal cap 5 atits end for facilitating connection of the blanket to electric currentcontrol apparatus which is not illustrated.

Each of the parallel lengths or legs G of the electric conductor ishoused in a pocket formed between the blanket plies I and 2 by stitchingthe inner face portions of the plies together as represented at 1 1. Thestitch rows I are confined to the in ner portions only of the blanketplies so that they are not visible on the outside of the blanket butinstead are concealed within the same.

At one end of the blanket, alternate stitch lines Ia extend somewhatbeyond the adjacent ends of the intervening stitch'lines 1b, and at theopposite end of the blanket the stitch lines 1b extend beyond theadjacent ends of the said alternate stitch lines 1a. This arrangement ofthe stitch lines is incident to the connecting loops 8 between the endsof the adjacent lengths of the conductor as shown. The stitching doesnot traverse the conductor at any point but is so arranged as toeffectively pocket the respective conductor lengths and to preventshifting of the same into mutual contact. Proper spacing anddistribution of the conductor lengths over the area of the blanket isthereby maintained.

The blanket construction may vary from that described, the describedarrangement being merely typical of the character of blanket structurewhich the following described mechanism is designed to produce.

The machine for producing the described blanket structure embodies afixed jaw 9 and a movable jaw I0 over which the blanket plies I and 2are disposed so as to position portions Ia and 2a of said plies in ornearly in face to face relationship while the remaining portions of thesaid plies extend away from each other. As best asian? shown 'in Fig. 9,the plies I and 2 are folded around the upper edge portions of upwardlyextending jaw ups Il and l2, respectively. so as to present narrow,co-pianar horizontally disposed blanket portions at I3 and It on theupper edges of each of said jaw lips II and I2. The conductor wire ,3 isfed into piace between the adjacent portions Ia and 2a of the blanketplies and near the upper edges of said jaw lips II and I2 and thestitching 1 is effected through the horizontalLv disposed narrowportions I3 and I4 of the blanket plies. The stitching l is effect-ed byany suitable sewing machine such as a Lewis blind-stitch sewing machine,a portion of which is represented at I5. Such a sewing machine employs acurvedJ needle indicated at IB which is adapted to be passed through thethicknessof the said horizontal narrow portions I3 and I4 of the blanketplies. The stitching. therefore, does not pass from one side of theblanket to the other, but instead merely passes into and out of theblanket plies on one side thereof without ever reaching the oppositeside of the respective plies.

The nxed jaw '9 is rigidly mounted on the upper side of a stationaryframe member I1 which in this instanceis in the form of a channel ironmember. Said channel iron member I1 is rigidly and xedly supported by amain frame structure which includes, at each end of the machine, anangle iron base member I8, and

.upwardly extending end member I9, and a pair of upper frame anglemembers and 2|. The end members I9 may be of suitable cast constructionor fabricated of metal plates and shapes, or of any other form andmaterial. The opposite end members are suitably rigidly interconnectedin part by the said stationary frame member Il and in part by a pair ofoppositely facing channel members 22 and 23 at-the back of the machine,and an overlying angle or L- shaped member 24. The various parts may bebolted, riveted, welded or otherwise suitably intei-connected.

The movable jaw i0 is mounted on the upper end of a channel iron member25 which is secured at its ends to the upper ends of a pair of angleiron legs or posts 25-26. The said legs or posts 26 are pivotallymounted at their lower ends as indicated at 21 on forward extensions ofthe base frame elements I8 at the opposite ends of the machine. Theposts 26 at the op- .posite ends of the machine are guided betweenforward end extensions of the end frame members 2I as will be apparentfrom an inspection of Figs. 1, 2. rI. and 8.

Adjustment of the jaw I0 toward and from the fixed jaw 9 is effectedthrough the agency, at each end of the machine, of a link 28 which ispivoted at one .end as indicated at 29 to the stationary end frame I9,and provided at its other end with a short link connection 33 to the legor post 26. The post connected ends of the links 30 are secured to ashaft 3l which extends from end to end of the machine and is rotatablymounted in the respective posts 26. At one end of the machine ahand-lever 32 is .provided for rocking the shaft 3| and therebyadjusting the links 28 and 30 to open and close the jaws. The hand-leveris provided with a stop lug or boss 32a adapted to engage the face ofone of the flanges of the adjacent post 23 to thereby limit turning ofsaid shaft 3I in jaw-closing direction. The linkage 28, 30, is desirablyso arranged that it locks the jaws in closed position by anover-the-center locking effect when the handle lug 32a is in engagementwith the post 25. The open position of the jaw I0 is represented inbroken lines inl Fig. 2.

To permit tine adjustment of the spacing between the jaws 9 and III intheir closed position, the pivot 29 embodies an eccentric element 33whereby rotation of the normally xed pivot 29 effects inward or outwardmovement of the respective links 28 and the parts connected to the freeends thereof.

The blanket .plies are automatically fed between the jaws by beingpassed 'between a pair of cooperating feed rolls 34 and 35 which arehoused within the oppositely facing channels Il and 25 (see Fig. 9). Thesaid rolls extend the full length of the machine being carried bysuitable shafts 33 and 31 .which are journaled in* anti-frictionbearings 38 and 39 (Figs. 2 and 8) secured to the vertical Webs of thesaid channels 25 and I1, respectively. The rolls 34 and 35 are connectedfor simultaneous rotation in opposite directions at the same surfacespeed by means of intermeshing gears 4|) and 4I secured t'o therespective shafts 36 and 31 at their ends as shown in detail in Fig. 8.The roll 34 is driven through the said intermeshing gears and throughthe roll 35 which is in turn driven by mechanism which will presently bedescribed. The intermeshing gear connection between the rolls 34 and 35permits the roll 34 to be separated from the roll 35 when the jaws areopened, the driving connection between the rolls being readilyreestablished when the jaws are closed.

The jaw II) and its companion roll 34 are made movable relative to thefixed jaw 9 and its companion roll 35 to facilitate initial threading ofblanket material plies into the machine. For starting a pair of blanketplies into the machine, the jaws and feed rolls are separated and theleading side edges of the blanket plies, preliminarily clamped togetherby a suitable clamping device indicated at 42 (Fig. 9), are passeddownwardly between the opened jaws and rollers to substantially therelationship indicated in Fig. 9. Then when the jaws and rollers areclosed or brought together, the blanket plies will be gripped betweenthe rolls so that subsequent rotation thereof will feed the blanketplies downwardly between the jaws 9 and I0. the jaws remaining in theirclosed position as illustrated in Fig. 9. It will be understood that thejaws do not clamp the blanket plies together but merely support them insuch spaced relation as is required to receive the cable 3 between themand to form the required narrow, horizontal blanket .portions forstitching purposes as above explained. The feed rolls 34 and 35 squeezethe blanket plies together quite tightly to insure positive feeding ofthe blanket the required distance each time that the rolls are driven.'Ihe bulges produced by the interposed cable 3 in the blanket readilypass between the rolls since the blanket material itself is quite thickand substantially compressible, and since the diameter of said cable issmall enough to be readily accommodated between the blanket .pliespassing between the feed rolls in the manner indicated. Furthermore, themovable jaw l0 and roll 34 may be sprung slightly away from the fixedjaw 9 and roll 35 if required by the extra thickness of the blanketmaterial passing between the rolls resulting from the presence of thecable. The surface of the rolls 34 and 35 may be knurled or otherwisetreated to aid in the blanket feeding operation.

For starting the sewing of a blanket, it is de- 8 sirable to locate thefirst line oi'v stitching at a fairly accurately predetermined distancefrom the leading side edges of the'blanket plies. To aidrin this matter,the clamp 42 is engaged with an adjustable positioning stop carried bythe frame structure of the machine at its opposite ends. .The clam-p mayconsist of a pair of main plates 43 and 44 between which the blanketplies are gripped' and reinforcing edge plates 45 and 46, these partsbeing pivotally interconnected as represented at 41 (Fig. 9). Coilsprings such as represented at 48 interposed between handle-likeextensions of the clamp plates 43 and 44 serve to resiliently hold theclamp plates 43 and. together at their free edges. 'I'he clamp plates 43and 44 are extended beyond the opposite edges of the blanket and theextended end portions of said clamping plates, or the extended edge ofat' least one of them, may be engaged with stops such as represented at49 at the opposite ends of the machine. Stops 49 are verticallyadjustably mounted on bolts such as represented at 50 which are threadedinto suitable parts carried by the frame structure, and nuts such asrepresented at may be adjusted up or down on the bolts 50 to adjustablysupport the stop members 49 at the desired elevation. By appropriatelypositioning the clamp with reference to the leading edges of the blanketplies and by employing the stops 49 as gages, the iirst line ofstitching may be accurately located with reference to the leading sideedge of the blanket plies.

As best shown in Fig. 9, the jaws 9 and I0 are formed of angle ironmembers arranged with their inside angles facing upwardly so as to formupwardly facing channels or troughs in which the blanket plies andthrough which said blanket plies are guided by means of rolls or rods 52and 53, respectively, the said guiding rods being unattached to saidjaws and merely resting in the bottoms thereof. The jaw forming anglesare supported in upwardly spaced relation to the upper legs of thechannels I1 and 25 by means of suitable angle mounting blocks 54,disposed at suitable space locations across the length of the machine asbest shown in Fig. 1.

A pan or tray 55 is suitably supported in the4 stationary framestructure of the machine in downwardly spaced relation to the jaws 9 andl0 and feed rolls 34 and 35, said tray serves to receive the freeportions of the blanket plies which extend downwardly from the outeredges of the jaws 9 and I0 and also the united, cable containing pliesof the blanket fed downwardly from between the rolls 34 and 35. Theblanket is thereby kept off the floor and maintained clean.

For` convenience when threading blanket plies between the jaws and feedrolls, the rods 52 and 53 may be supported in holding bracketsrepresented at 56 (Figs. 3, 4, and '1), such holding brackets beingsuitably anchored to the opposite end frames of the machine where theywill not interfere with other parts of the mechanism, and where the rodswill be conveniently accessible for movement to the jaw troughs whendesired.

The sewing machine l5 has its -base portion 51 mounted on the horizontalleg 58 of an angle iron shelf member 59. 'I'he vertical leg 60 of saidshelf member is pivoted at its upper end as indicated at 6I (Figs. 2 and3) in suitable ears which project forwardly from the upper margin of aplate 62. The base 51 of the sewing machine is secured to said shelfplate 56 by means of bolts 63which extend upwardly through slots in theshelf plate (Fig. 3) .and into the sewing machine base. The

slots through which the bolts 63 pass are elongated transversely of themachine sothat the sewing machine may be suitably adjusted to locate itsstitching mechanism in the desired relationship to the blanket holdingjaws 9 and I0. Vertical adjustment of the stitching mechanism relativeto the jaws 9 and I0 is also provided. It consists of an adjusting screw64 which is threaded through the vertical wall portion 60 of the shelfbracket, the end of the screw being caused to bear against the adjacentface of the plate 62. It will be seen that by appropriately adjustingthe screw 64, the shelf bracket 59 may .be caused to swing about itspivot mounting 6l thereby effecting substantially vertical adjustment ofthe needle mechanism ofthe sewing machine. The adjusting screw 64facilitates the making of very fine vertical adjustment of the path ofmovement of the needle so that it can be caused to penetrate thethickness of the blanket material at the desired point, intermediate theopposite faces thereof.

The plate 62 constitutes a part of a horizontally movable carriagestructure which is portably supported by a fixed plate-like rail 65. Therail 65 extends from end to end of the machine, and itis supported bybeing bolted to the vertical flange of the angle frame member 24.Suitable spacers 66 serve to properly space the rail 65 from the framemember 24 as best shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 5.

The sewing machine is movable lengthwise of the machine along the rail65, and the plate 62 constitutes part of the sewing machine carriagewhich is guided by said rail 65. The carriage, in addition to the plate62, includes upper and lower angle iron members 61 and 68 which aresecured to the plate 62 and extend rearwardly therefrom.

At the opposite ends of said angle iron members 61 and 68 there aresecured endwise extending brackets 69 (see Fig. 3) which support rollers10 which ride on the top and bottom edges of said rail 65. Said anglemembers 61 and 68 also support pairs of rolls at each end in suchposition as to embrace the upper and lower margins of the rail 65 tothereby position the carriage in substantially xed transverse relationto the said rail 65. Each of said roll pairs comprises front rolls 1iand rear rolls 12. It will be seen that the roller arrangement describedsupports the carriage for movement lengthwise of the roll but againsttransverse rocking or shifting.

The carriage is automatically propelled back and forth along the rail65. For this purpose an endless chain 13 is driven by means of anelectric motor 14 through the agency of a suitable speedreducing unit15, the out-put shaft of which has secured to it a sprocket 16 whichengages the chain as best shown in Fig. 1. The motor 14 and thespeed-reducing unit 15 are mounted on the back of the machine, suitableframe parts or brackets being provided for that purpose. From the drivesprocket 16 the chain is carried upwardly over an idler sprocket 11suitably mounted on the supporting frame of the machine, thence upwardlyand around a sprocket 18 which is suitably journalled at one end of themachine. From the sprocket 18 the chain is carried in a substantiallyhorizontal direction across the length of the machine to anothersprocket 19, and thence over and downwardly around said sprocket 19 toanother idler sprocket and back to the driving sprocket 16. Thesprockets 18 and 19 are journalled on stub shafts carried by the framemember 24 (see Fig. 2). In order that the sew- 7 ing machine be causedto travel back and i'orth along the length of the machine, the chain iscorrespondingly driven alternately in opposite directions. In thehorizontal upper reach of the vchain there is provided a special link orconnecting block 8| which is provided in its upper edge with a notch orrecess 82 for receiving a latch bar 83 pivoted at one end as shown at 84to the carriage structure (see Figs. 3 and 5). The latch bar is pivoteddirectly to a mounting block 85 which is in turn bolted to the carriagemember 61,

and the free end of said latch bar is adapted to engage in the saidnotch B2 of the chain block 3|. Travel of the horizontal reach of thechain 13 will thereby be transmitted to the sewing machine carriage. Thechain is supported under said latch bar by a bar 85a which is securedtosaid carriage member 61. A chain guide 85h is also provided on the topof the free end portion of said bar 85a.

The electric motor 14 which drives the chain is of a suitable reversibletype.. and automatically actuated control means is provided forreversing the motor so as to reverse the direction of travel of thechain upon the completion of each traverse of the sewing machine headover the length of the apparatus. This control means will now bedescribed.

A bar 86 extending lengthwise of the machine is mounted in suitableguides for longitudinal sliding movement. At the ends of the machine,the bar is slidably supported in guide blocks`81 (see Figs. 3 and 7),and intermediate the ends of the apparatus there are provided a vseriesof suitably spaced guide blocks 88 mounted on frame carried bracketssuch as 89. The slide bar B6 may be suitably anchored against upwarddisplacement from said guide blocks if desired, but there is no forceexerted in an upward direction except at one end so that such anchoringmeans is not essential, and is not herein shown. However, it may consistof a plate mounted on one or more of the guide blocks and extendingacross the tcp oi.' the slide bar, or it may consist of key and slotinterconnections between one or more of the guide blocks and the slidebar. At one end, said slide bar 86 is provided on its lower surface witha gear rack 90 (Fig. 4) which meshes with a gear segment 9|. At that endof the machine the guide block 81 has secured to its top surface at oneside of the guideway therein, a retaining plate 92 which extends intooverlapping relationship to a rearward marginal portion of the slide bar86 (see Figs. 3 and 4) The overlapping portion of the plate 92 willadequately serve to prevent upward displacement of the adjacent rackbearing end of the slide bar. A similar holding plate may be provided atthe other end of the holding bar and on the intermediate supports, ifdesired.

The slide bar 86 has mounted on its top surface at properly spacedlongitudinal points, cam bars 93 and 94 respectively (Figs. 3 and 7) andstops 95 and 96 are respectively mounted on top of the said cam bars 93and 94. The stops 95 and 96 are respectively engageable by the lower endportions of bar-like members 91 and 98, respectively, which arevertically adjustably mounted on the opposite ends of the carriage plate62 (see Figs. 2, 3, and 7). When the carriage approaches the righthandlimit of its travel, the lower end of the member 98 will engage the stopor abutment 96 and thereby impart sliding movement to the slide bar 86toward the right-hand end of the machine as viewed in Fig. 3, or theleft-hand end as viewed in Fig. 4. Such lengthwise movement of the slidebar 86 will. of course. be transmitted to the gn' segment 9| which ismounted for oscillating movement on a stub shaft 99 which is suitablysupported in a stationary bracket |00 which is provided for thatpurpose. Said segment 9| has aS- sociated with its hub portion a bevelgear |0| which meshes at its opposite sides with a pair of cooperatingbevel gears |02 and |03 which are respectively secured to the hubportions of arms |04 and |05, the said bevel gears and arms beingsuitably mounted Ior oscillating movement independently of each other inportions of said bracket |00. It will be seen that when the gear segment90.1s rocked in one direction, the bevel gears |02 and |03 will beturned in opposite directions so as to cause the arms 04 and |05 to rocksimultaneously in opposite directions.

The oscillating movements of the arms |04 and |05 are employed forperiodically driving the blanket feed rolls 34 and 35 to advance theblanket plies upon the completion of each row of stitching. For thispurpose, the arms |04 and |05 are connected by drag links |06 and |01lrespectively, to over-riding clutch mechanisms |08 and |09 which arecarried by an extension of the shaft 31 of the blanket feed roll 35. Theclutches 08 and |09 are alike in construction, and they may be of anysuitable for-m which will operate to transmit counter-clockwise rotationfrom the clutch bodies to which the links |06 and |01 are connected tothe feed roller 35 (as viewed in Fig. 2). It will be apparent that whenthe arm |05 is rocked in a clockwise direction, it operates through itsdrag link |01 to eiect feed movement of the feed roller 35 in the properdirection. When the arm |05 is moving in blanket-feeding direction, thearm |04 is rocked in counter-clockwise direction and the clutch body |08will rotate counter-clockwise and free of driving connection to saidfeed roll 35. Similarly, when the arm |05 is moved counter-clockwise,its clutch |09 will be idled but the arm |04 will be rocked in clockwiseor blanket-feeding direction. Hence, it will be seen that the blanketfeed rollers will be driven in a step by step manner, always in the samedirection, each time that the sewing machine carriage reaches therighthand end of the machine as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3. Like feedroller movement is e'ected each time that the sewing machine carriagereaches the left-hand end of its travel, the movement being then eiectedby reversely sliding the slide bar 8S incident to engagement of thelower end of the member 91 with the stop 95 (Fig. '7).

The member 91 is provided with an offset extension element ||0 which isadapted to engage the adjacent end of a rod ||2 which is slidablymounted near one end in a lug ||3 carried by the cam bar 93. The otherend of said rod ||2 is connected as shown at ||4 to a suitable countingmechanism ||5 which will be caused to register each time that the sewingmachine head reaches the end of its travel at the lefthand end of theapparatus. By means of the counter ||5 it is easy to determine whentherequired number of electric conductor legs have been encased between theblanket plies. For example, in the blanket structure illustrated in Fig.11, there are 17 rows of stitching 1a which include the two outermostrows of stitching. The blanket sewing operation is conducted so that thecounter I5 will be actuated each time that a row of stitching 1a iscompleted. Hence, when the register shows the completion of 17 rows ofstitching a complete blanket unit is ready to be `ing of the switch arm|2|.

desired it may embody separate units, one for counting the total numberof rows of stitching, another for counting the number of stitches formedin each blanket unit, another` for counting the number of blanket unitsproduced. If such multiple counter is employed, separate resettingmechanisms should, of course, be provided for each unit.

As shown in Fig. 2, the rock arm |04 has its free end operation extendedand provided with a stud H1 which is slidable in an elongatedslot I|8provided in an ar-m or link H3. The link ||9 is pivoted vat its oppositeend as shown at \|20 to the arm |2| on a suitable switch mechanism |22which controls the reversible motor 1 4. Wh'enthe rock arm |04 is rockedcounter-clockwise from the position illustrated in Fig. 2 its stud ||1will engage the link ||9 at the righthand end of the slot I8 to therebyinitiate rock- An over-the-center spring |23 is provided for completingthe movement of the switch arm, such movement being limited by stop pinssuch as shown at |24, |24.

Suitable electrical connections (well known to those skilled in the art)are, of course. made so that when the switch arm 2| is rocked from oneside to the other, the motor |14 will be reversed to thereby effectreversal of the travel of the chain 13 and thereby to eiect reversal ofthe travel of the sewing machine. Manual stop and start switches may beprovided as indicated at |25.

The sewing machine mechanism I is driven by a separate electric motor|26. The motor |26 is suported on a shelf-like bracket |21 having a iegportion |28 secured to the leg 60 oi' the sewing machine head bracket 59(see Figs. 1, 2 and 3). The motor shaft is provided with a pulley |29for driving a belt |30 which transmits power to the pulley |3| on thepower shaft of the sewing machine mechanism. Electric power is deliveredto the sewing machine motor |26 through the agency of a suitablysupported ilexible conductor cord |32, a switch |33 being provided forbreaking the motor circuit when the motor is to be stopped at the end ofeach line of stitching.

As best shown in `Fig. 3, the switch |33 is mounted on a bracket |34which extends upwardly from the carrier angle member 61 and the switchincludes a depressible button |35. When the button is pressed inwardly,the circuit is broken to thereby de-energize the sewing machine motor.The switch |33 is automatically opened upon the completion of each rowof stitching by means of cam bars |36 and |31 (Figs. 1 and 3) whichare'adjustably mounted on the upper edge of a bar |36. The bar |33extends lengthwise of the apparatus immediately over the upper edge ofthe frame member 24 and it is longitudinally slidably mounted insuitable brackets such as represented at |39 near the ends of the bar.One or more intermediate sup'- ports such as represented at |40 (Figs. 1and 5)' may be provided. The cam bars |36 and |31 have rounded orbeveled corners which constitute cam edges for engaging and forcing theswitch button |35 inwardly incident to the movement of the switchlaterally over the adjacent edge of the lengaged cam bar.

lo Shortly after the switch button |35 is pressed inwardly to break thecircuit to the sewing machine motor, the leading side edge of .the chainengaging finger or latch 83 engages an abutment |4| or |42 which issuitably mounted on the front face of the bar |33 so as to projectforwardly therefrom. The bar |38 together with the said abutment |4| or|42 and the respectively associated cam |36 or |31 will thereby be movedendwise for a short distance until the mechanism hereinbefore describedhas acted to effect reversal of the chain driving motor 14. v When thechain and sewing machine start their reverse travel to apply the nextrow of stitching, the sewing operation will start as soon as the switchbutton rides oi the cam which depressed it. Since that camwas movedendwise in the direction of travel of the sewing machine at the time thebutton was depressed, it will be evident that the switch button willleave the cam at an advanced point with reference to the point at whichthe cam was rst engaged. By this arrangement the starting points of theswitch lines are located neared to the end or side edges of the blanketmaterial than theilnishing points oi' the adjacent stitch lines.

The momentum of the operating parts of the sewing machine will, ofcourse, tend to maintain the same in operation for a few stitches afterthe power tothe operating motor |26 is cut ofi. To limit such momentumoperation and to eilect stopping of the sewing machine mechanism withits needle I6 in an up and out of the way position, a suitable brake isprovided. In this instance, the brake consists of an arm |42a pivoted atits upper end to a supporting arm |42b which is rigidwith the sewingmachine carriage.

The arm |42a is provided with a pad |42c of friction material forengaging a brake projection |5a on the sewing machine ily wheel lib. Anadjustably positioned spring y| 42d serves to resiliently urge the brakepad |42cv-into the path of travel of the iiy wheel projection |5a, suchmovement being limited by suitable -restricting means |42e. The brakingeffect is not so strong as to interfere with the normal operation of thesewing machine when the motor |26 is energized.

The thread for the sewing machine is drawn from a supply spool |43suitably supported on the sewing machine bracket 59 (Fig. 2), the threadbeing conducted upwardly through an eye in a guide |44 and thencedownwardly and forwardly through more or less conventional thread guidesand tension controlling devices forming a part of the sewing machine andto the needle |6. The thread is not normally broken between rows ofstitching but is carried directly from one row to the next and is brokenoff only when an entire blanket unit hasbeen stitched.

The electric cable which is to be positioned between blanket pliesimmediately below each line of stitching is drawn from a supply spoolguide pulley |50, and thence through an eye |5| (see Figs. 1 and 10).The wire guides |48, |49, the pulley |50 and eye |5| are all carried bya vertically disposed rod |52 which is in turn car- 11 ried by a pair ofarms |53 and |54. The arms |54 are secured to a vertical shaft |55 whichis journalled for rotation in a bracket |56 mounted en top of the sewingmachine head (see also Fig. 2).

During the operation of laying a cable between the blanket plies andbelow a line of stitching being applied thereto, the rod |52 ispositioned on the leading side of the sewing machine head so thatthecable will be deposited just in advance of the zone of operation ofthe needle |6. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the cable guidingelements are in position for laying a cable when the sewing machinebegins to travel from the right-hand end of the machine to the lefthandend thereof.

Mechanism is provided for automatically rotating the shaft |55 therebyto swing the cable guiding parts through an arc of 180 to position saidparts on the other side of the machine preparatory to travel of thesewing machine from left to right in Fig. l. For this purpose, the shaft|55 is provided with a bevel gear |51 which meshes with another bevelgear 58, the latter being secured to the adjacent end of a shaft |59which is rotatably supported in said bracket |56 and in a cooperatingbracket |60 at the other end of the sewing machine head. Beyond thesupporting bearing |66, the shaft |59 has secured to it an arm or lever|6| which is equipped with a rearwardly extending boss or button |62. Byrocking the lever 6|, the shaft |59 will be rotated and such rotationwill be transmitted through the bevel gears |51 and |58 to the shaft |55to thereby rotate the cable guiding elements as above explained.

The arm I 6| is rocked as above mentioned automatically as an incidentto the terminal portion or each traverse of the sewing machine headacross the apparatus. This is accomplished by providing a normally fixedsupporting bar |63 and cam or abutment dogs |64 and |65 pivotallymounted on said supporting bar |63. The supporting bar 63 may be fixedlysupported by suitably upstanding brackets |66 at the opposite ends ofthe machine. The dogs |64 and |65 are pivoted as indicated at |61 tomounting blocks |68 fastened to the supporting bar |63 so as to beadjustable longitudinally of the latter. The

. dogs |64 and |65 may be manually swung upwardly about their pivots |61from their normal operative positions shown in Fig. 1 in which they aresupported by stop pins |69 which project -from the respective dogs intooverlying relation to the mounting blocks |68.

It will be seen that when the sewing machine head is travelling fromleft to right (in Fig. 1), the arrangement is such that the boss |62 ofthe arm 6| will engage the free end |10 of the dog |65 so as to bethereby rocked as an incident to the travel of the sewing machine head.The inter-engagement of the boss or roller |62 with the dog |65 (or |64)occurs in such synchronism with the operation of the reversing mechanismas to eiect the completion of the rotation of the wire guiding elementsat about the time the spring |1|la stretched between a f ixed ear |101;and a pin |10c which extends upwardly from the arm |53 to one side ofthe pivot shaft |55 (see Figs. 1 and 2).

As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the sewing machine proper includes a presserfoot |1| which rides on the horizontally disposed portions I3 and |4 ofthe blanket plies to hold them in predetermined position over the edgesof the jaw members |I and l2 to condition the blanket material for thestitching operationeil'ected by the needle I6.

Each time that a row of stitching is completed, the blanket plies are,of course, advanced and such movement of the blanket plies makes itdesirable, if not necessary, to lift the presser foot |1| so as to freethe blanket material thereunder for the desired feeding movement. Suchlifting of the presser foot is accomplished by providing a roller |12 onthe bottom of the sewing machine supporting bracket 59 (see Figs. 3 and5), said roller being arranged to cooperate with sewing machine headbegins its return travel.

the inclined cam edge portion |13 of the cam bar 94 at the right-handend of the machine and with cam edge |14 of the cam bar 93 at theleft-hand end of the machine (Fig. '1).

The cam bars 93 and 94 are so arranged that when the sewing machinereaches the ends of its path of travel, the roller |12 will engage theadjacent cam bar to thereby effect rocking of the sewing machine headand its supporting bracket about the pivot 6|. Such rocking movementwill, of course, eect substantially vertical movement of the outer endof the sewing machine head and the presser foot to thereby release theblanket material for feeding movement as already explained.

The said presser foot lifting movement is, of course, effected at theend of the stitching travel of the sewing machine head, and downward orreturn movement of the presser foot occurs as an incident to themovement of the roller |12 off' the cam bar 93 or 94 immediately afterthe sewing machine begins its reversed travel. By adjusting the screw64, the normal pressure of the presser foot |1| on the blanket materialmay be adiueted.

The operation of stitching an electric blanket such as illustrated inFig. 11 is started by rst positioning the blanket plies in the jaws 9and i6 as shown in Figs. 4 and 9 and then, without feeding any wire,producing the first row |15 of stitching 1a. The line of stitching isstarted at the right-hand end of the machine as illustrated in Figs. 1and '7 so that said first row |15 of stitching is terminated shortlybefore the sewing machine head reaches the left-hand end of theapparatus. The blanket material is then fed downwardly between the jaws9 and I0, one unit of movement incident to rotation of the feed rolls 34and 35. A sufficient length of wire or cable 3 to provide the leadportion 3a (Fig. 11) is then pulled through the wire guides and ispassed downwardly between the jaws 9 and I0, the jaws being providedwith recesses |16 and |11 (Figs. 1 and '1) to form an enlarged openingfor this purpose. The lead portion of the wire may merely rest on thesurface of the underlying roll 34 or 35 on either side of or between theblanket material, and will ultimately pass downwardly between the feedrolls with the blanket material. The wire becomes more or lessfrictionally anchored between the blanket material plies so that whenthe sewing machine head begins its return movement, i. e. from left toright, wire will be drawn from the supply spool and paid out from theissuing eye |5| immediately ahead of the .Zone of operation of theneedle I6. Hence,

on the second and succeeding rows oi stitching. wire will be laidbetween the blanket material plies immediately under the row ofstitching produced during the travel o1' the sewing machine head. Insome instances, it may be preferable to manually hold the lead end ofthe wire until a suilicient length thereof has been laid between theblanket plies and coniined therein by overlying stitching to adequatelyanchor the wire to prevent the travelling sewing machine from pullingout said lead 3a.

When the last row |18 of stitching Ib is completed, the chain drivingmotor 1I is temporarily shut oil' either automatically or manually(manually in this instance). and a required length ofJ cable to form thelead 3b is then manually drawn through the guiding elements and the lead3b severed from the supplyof cable, and the stitched blanket removedfrom the apparatus. The united blanket plies are then subjected totrimming at the sides (parallel with the lines of stitching), and thetrimmed edges suitably stitched together, or otherwise finished. Thetransverse ends of the blanket are also finished by taping or otherwiseas indicated at |18. Suitable provision is, of course, made forextending the leads 3a and 3b out the blanket through the agency of theflexible conductor cord I.

In Fig. 1 the dotted lines |88, |80 represent the approximate locationof the opposite ends of a blanket being processed in the apparatus. Whena completed blanket is being removed from the apparatus and new blanketmaterial introduced it is convenient to move the' sewing machine headbeyond its normal stopping point so as to com- 3 pletely clear theblanket receiving lengths of the jaws 8 and I0. The rail or track 85 andother necessary parts are accordingly extended at the right-hand end ofthe apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 to permit such movement of the sewingmachine head beyond its normal limit of blanket sewing travel. Also topermit such extra movement oi' the sewing machine head, the bar-likemember 98 is manually adjustable upwardly so that its lower end willclear the abutment 86 which it normally engages. Such upward movement ofthe member 98 is transmitted by an arm or rod I8l to the latch bar 83 soas to rock the same upwardly about its pivot 84 to thereby disengage thesame from the driving chain 13. With D the member 98 and latch 83 soadjusted, the sewing machine carriage and parts supported thereby may bemoved to the extreme right-hand position in which they are illustratedinFig. 1. The rod |8| is connected to the latch 83 by means of abell-like element |82 which is anchored to the latch 83 in overlyingrelation to the said rod. The member 81 may also be manually adjustedupwardly toA cause its lower end to clear the abutment 95 for adjustmentpurposes. There is, however, no normal requirement for movement of thesewing machine head beyond a limit determined by the abutment 95.

When new blanket material has been properly introduced into the jaws andthe latter closed so as to retain the blanket material in position, thesewing machine carriage and sewing machine head are manually returned tostarting position at the right-hand end of the apparatus, the member 88and latch 83 being -then restored to their operative positions. Forconvenience an electric switch |83 may be mounted at the lefthand end ofthe machine (Fig. 1) and suitably connected to the motor 14 tofacilitate starting and stopping of the apparatus from the left-hand -v14 V end of the machine, should that be required. The switch |83 -is acounterpart of the switch at the right-hand end of the apparatus."Changes in the construction of the machine as described may be madewithout departing from the principles of the machine as described. `Forexample, a sewing machine has been referred to for eectinginterattachment of the blanket plies but it will -be evident that otherlmeans such as stapling or tying mechanisms may be substituted and suchsubstitutions are not excluded from the scope of the following claimswhere reference to any specic device is intended to be understood asreferring also to any equivalent device.

We claim:

l. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination of means for supporting portions of l a pair of blanketplies in substantially co-planar, juxtaposed relationship, said portionsextending from side to side of said plies, means for advancing saidblanket plies step by step so as to successively position spaced,parallel portions of the respective plies on said supporting means, ablind stitch sewing machine, means supporting said sewing machine formovement lengthwise of said co-planar blanket portions and in suchrelation thereto as to be operative to stitch through only apart of thethickness of said co-planar blanket portions, means for simultaneouslyactuating said s'ewing machine and propelling the same lengthwise ofsaid co-planar blanket portions to thereby unite the same, and meansautomatically actuating said blanket ply feed means and reversing thedirection of travel of said sewing machine upon the completion of eachrow of stitching uniting the respective pairs of said juxtaposedportions.

2. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in substantiallyco-planar, juxtaposed relationship, said portions extending from sidetoside of said plies, means for advancing said blanket plies step bystep so as to suc"- cessively position spaced, parallel portions of therespective plies on said supporting means, a blind stitch sewing machinehaving a presser foot cooperating with said blanket ply supporting meansto hold said juxtaposed portions in predetermined position on saidmeans, means supporting said sewing machine for movement lengthwise ofsaid co-planar blanket portions and in such relation thereto asto beoperative to stitch through only a part of the thickness of saidcoplanar blanket portions, means for simultaneously actuating saidsewing machine and propelling the same lengthwise of said co-planarblanket portions to thereby unite the same, means automaticallyactuating said blanket ply feed means and reversing the direction oftravel of said sewing machine upon the completion ofv each row ofstitching uniting the respective pairs of said juxtaposed portions, andmeans for automatically elevating and restoring said presser foot fromand to operative relation to said blanket ply supporting meansimmediately before and after the actuation of said blanket ply feedmeans.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in juxtaposed,substantially parallel relationship, a sewing machine, means forsupporting said sewing machine lfor -movement in the direction of saidjuxtaposed blanket portions, means for actuatingv said sew` ing machineto stitch the blanket plies together along said juxtaposed portions, andmeans associated with said sewing machine for laying an electricconductor between the blanket plies and beyond said juxtaposed blanketportions in advvance of the stitching applied to said co-planarportions.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in substantiallyco-planar, juxtaposed relationship, said portions extending from side toside of said plies, a blind stitch sewing machine, means supporting saidsewing machine for movement lengthwise of said co-planar blanketportions and in such relation thereto as to be operative to stitchthrough only a part of the thickness of said co-planar blanket portions,means for simultaneously actuating said sewing machine and propellingthe same lengthwise of said co-planar blanket portions to thereby unitethe same, and means associated with said sewing machine for laying anelectric conductor between the blanket plies and beyond said co-planarblanket portions in advance of the stitching applied to said co-planarportions.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination oi' means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in substantiallyco-planar, juxtaposed relationship, said portions extending from side toside of said plies, means for advancing said blanket plies step by stepso as to successively position spaced, parallel 'portions of therespective plies on said supporting means, a blind stitch sewingmachine, means supporting said sewing machine for movement lengthwise ofsaid co-planar blanket portions and in such relation thereto as to beoperative to stitch through only a part of the thickness of saidco-planar blanket portions, means for simultaneously actuating saidsewing machine and propelling the same lengthwise of said co-planarblanket portions to thereby unite the same, means automaticallyactuating said blanket ply feed means and reversing the direction oftravel of said sewing machine upon the completion of each row ofstitching uniting the respective pairs of said juxtaposed portions, andmeans associated with said sewing machine for laying an electricconductor between the blanket plies and beyond said co-planar blanketportions in advance of the stitching applied to said co-planar portions.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in substantiallyco-p1anar, juxtaposed relationship, said portions extending from side toside of said plies, means for advancing said blanket plies step by stepso as to successively position spaced, parallel portions of therespective plies on said supporting means, a blind stitch sewingmachine, means supporting said sewing machine for movement lengthwise ofsaid co-planar blanket portions and in such relation thereto as to beoperative to stitch through only a part of the thickness of saidco-planar blanket portions, means for simultaneously actuating saidsewing machine and propelling the same lengthwise of said co-planarblanket portions to thereby unite the same, means automaticallyactuating said blanket ply feed means and reversing the direction oftravel of said sewing machine upon the completion of each row oi'stitching uniting the respective pairs of said juxtaposed portions, andmeans associated with said sewing machine for laying an electricconductor between the blanket plies and beyond said co-planar blanketportionsA in advance ot the stitching applied to said co-planarportions, said conductor laying means embodying a conductor guidemounted on said sewing machine so as to be adjustable from side to sidethereof, and means for automatically adjusting saidguide upon thecompletion of each line of stitching to position said guide in advanceof the next leading side of the sewing machine.

7. In apparatus of the class described, `means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism ot asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machine for stitchingtogether said juxtaposed ply portions, a track for supporting saidsewing machine for movement along said juxtaposed ply portions, a sewingmachine carriage mounted on said track for movement along the same andhaving said sewing machine mounted thereon. a. slidably mounted barparalleiing said track, inter-engageable means carried by said sewingmachine carriage and said bar for effecting lengthwise movement of saidbar when said sewing machine reaches a predetermined position in itspath of travel, blanket ply feed means actuated by the movement of saidbar for advancing said blanket plies to present other portions thereofto the zone of operation of said sewing machine, and means also actuatedas an incident to the movement of said bar for effecting reversal of thedirection of travel of said sewing machine.

8. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a. pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism oi asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing` machine forstitching together said juxtaposed ply portions, a track for supportingsaid sewing machine for movement along said juxtaposed ply portions, asewing machine carriage mounted on said track for movement along thesame and having said sewing machine mounted thereon, means for shuttingofi the power to said sewing machine when it reaches a predeterminedpoint in its path of travel, means for braking the operation of saidsewing machine so as to cause the mechanism thereof to come to rest withthe sewing machine needle clear'of the blanket material, a slidablymounted bar paralleling said track, inter-engageable means carried bysaid sewing machine carriage and said bar for eiecting lengthwisemovement of said bar when said sewing machine reaches a predeterminedposition in its path of travel, blanket ply feed means actuated by themovement of said bar for advancing said blanket plies to present otherportions thereof to the zone of operation of said sewing machine, andmeans also actuated as an incident to the movement of said bar foreffecting reversal of the direction of travel of said sewing machine.

9. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machine for stitchingtogether said juxtaposed ply portions, a track for supporting saidsewing machine for movement along said juxtaposed ply portions, a sewingmachine carriage mounted on said track for movement along the same andhaving said sewing machine mounted thereon, a slidably mounted bar 17 lparalleling said track, inter-engageable me carried by said sewingmachine carriage and said bar for effecting lengthwise movement of saidbar when said sewing machine reaches a predetermined position in itspath of travel, blanket ply feed means actuated by the movement of saidbar for advancing said blanket plies to present other portions thereofto the zone of operation of said sewing machine, and means also actuatedas an incident to the movement of said bar for effecting reversal of thedirection of travel of said sewing machine, said track being extended atone end beyond the length required for the normal blanket sewing travelof the sewing machine, and said inter-engageable means being adapted tobe made inoperative so as to permit the sewing machine to be movedbeyond the end of its normal blanket sewing travel and into position onsaid extended track portion, thereby to clear the blanket materialsupporting means for facilitating the positioning of blanket materialthereon.

10. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machine for stitchingtogether said juxtaposed ply portions, a track for supporting saidsewing machine for movement along said juxtaposed ply' portions, asewing machine carriage mounted on said track for movement along thesame and having said sewing machine mounted thereon, an endless belt forpropelling said sewing machine carriage forth and back along said track,reversible means for driving said belt, latch means interconnecting saidsewing machine carriage and said belt for transmitting movement fromsaid belt to said carriage, a slidably mounted bar paralleling saidtrack, inter-engageable means carried by said sewing machine carriageand said bar for effecting lengthwise movement of said bar when saidsewing machine reaches a predetermined position in its path of travel,blanket ply feed means actuated by the movement of said bar foradvancing said blanket plies to present other portions thereof to thezone of operation of said sewing machine, means also actuated as anincident to the movement of said bar for effecting reversal of said beltdriving means, said track being extended at one end beyond the lengthrequired for the normal blan- 'ket sewing travel of said sewing machine,said inter-engageable means and said latch means being readilydisengageable so as to permit the carriage and said sewing'machine to bemoved into position on said extended track portion and beyond the normalzone of operation of said sewing machine to thereby clear the blanketsupporting means to facilitate positioning of blanket material thereon.

1l. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machine for stitchingtogether said juxtaposed ply portions, a track for supporting saidsewing machine for movement along said juxtaposed ply portions, a sewingmachine carriage mounted on said track for 4movement along the same andhaving said sewing machine mounted thereon, a slidably ymounted barparalleling said track, inter-engageable means carriedlby said sewingmachine carriage and said bar for effecting4 lengthwise movement of saidbar when said sewing machine reaches a predetermined position in itspath of travel, blanket ply feed means actuated bythe movement of saidbar for advancing said blanket plies to present other portions thereofto the zone of operation of said sewing machine, said blanket ply feedmeans comprising a pair of feed rolls geared together for simultaneousrotation in opposite directions, a gear rack carried by a portion ofsaid bar. a gear meshing with said rack so as to be turned as anincident to the movement of the rack, a bevel gear connected to saidfirst-mentioned gear for turning as a unit therewith, a pair of bevelgears respectively meshing with opposite side portions 0f saidfirst-mentioned bevel gear so as to be thereby turned in oppositedirections as an incident to the turning of said first-mentioned bevelgear,

a pair of one-way clutches connected to one of said blanket materialfeed rolls, a pair of lever arms respectively connected to said pair ofbevel gears, links `respectively connecting said arms and said clutches,said arms being so positioned that when one of the arms is rocked infeed roll driving direction, the'other arm is rocked in idling directionwhereby said arms are operative to successively drive said feed roll,andmeans also actuated as an incident to the movement of said bar foreffecting reversal ofthe direction of travel of said sewing machine.

12, In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending substantiallyfrom side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machine for stitchingtogether said juxtaposed ply portions, means associated with said sewingmachine for laying an electrical conductor between the blanket plies inapproximate parallelism with a row of stitching produced by said sewingmachine, a track for supporting said sewing machine for movement alongsaid juxtaposed ply portion, a sewing machine carriage mounted on saidtrack for movement along the same and having said sewing machine mountedthereon, a slidably mounted bar paralleling said track, inter-engageablemeans carried by said sewing machine carriage and said bar for effectinglengthwise movement of said bar when said sewing machine reaches apredetermined position in its path of travel, blanket ply feed meansactuated by the movement of said` bar for advancing said blanket pliesto present other portions thereof to the zone of operation of saidsewing machine, and means also actuated as an incident to the movementof said bar foreffecting reversal of the direction of travel of saidsewing machine.

13. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as to present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, juxtaposed portions of the plies extending`substantially from side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machinefor stitching together said juxtaposed ply portions,

g a track for supporting said sewing machine for 4gageable means carriedby said sewing machine carriage and said bar for effecting lengthwise i9movement of said bar when said sewing machine reaches a predeterminedposition in its path of travel, blanket ply feed means actuated by themovement of said bar for advancing said blanket plies to present otherportions thereof to the zone of operation of said sewing machine, meansalso actuated as an incident to the movement of said bar for effectingreversal of the direction of travel of said sewing machine, and meansfor laying an electrical conductor between the blanket plies beyond saidjuxtaposed portions, said conductor` laying means comprising a rodnormally disposed on the leading side of said sewing machine andpivotally mounted thereon so as to he adapted to be turned about itspivot axis from one side of the sewing machine to the other side thereofupon reversal of the direction ofytravel thereof, a pair of normallystationary cams, means carried by the sewing machine and connected tosaid pivotally mounted rod and engageable with said stationary camsadjacent the ends of the path of travel of said sewing machine foreffecting turning of said rod as aforesaid, and a conductor guidecarried by said rod for delivering the conductor between said blanketplies in advance of the leading side of the sewing machine.

14. In a blanket sewing machine of the class described, a pair ofsubstantially parallel, juxtaposed jaws for supporting portions of apair of plies of blanket material in position to facilitate thestitching of said blanket plies together along said portions thereof, apair of feed rolls disposed below said jaws and substantiallyparalleling the same for feeding said blanket plies step by step betweensaid jaws, and means supporting one of said jaws and feed rolls forunitary movement toward and from the other jaw and feed roll to therebyfacilitate opening of said jaws and feed rolls for initial blanket plypositioning purposes.

15. In a blanket sewing machine of the class described, a pair ofsubstantially parallel juxtaposed jaws for supporting portions of a pairof plies of blanket material in position to facilitate the'stitching ofsaid blanket plies together along said portions thereof, a pair of feedrolls disposed below said jaws and substantially paralleling the samefor feeding said blanket plies step by step between said jaws, meanssupporting one of said jaws and feed rolls for unitary movement towardand from the other jaw and feed roll to thereby facilitate opening ofsaid jaws and feed rolls for initial blanket ply positioning purposes,and self-locking means for effecting opening of said jaws and rolls andfor releasably locking the same in cooperative relationship.

16. In apparatus of the class described, means for supporting a pair ofblanket forming plies so as Ato present to the stitching mechanism of asewing machine, -juxtaposed portions of the plies extendingsubstantially from side to side thereof, a power operated sewing machinefor stitching together said juxtaposed ply portions, means supportingsaid sewing machine for movement in the direction in which saidjuxtaposed ply portions extend, whereby the sewing machine may beoperated so as to stitch said plies together along said juxtaposedportions, means for propelling said sewing machine from a positionadjacent one end of said juxtaposed ply portions to a position adjacentthe other end thereof,

means for stopping the stitching operation short of the end of thenormal travel of the sewing machine, advancing the blanket plies apredetermined distance over said supporting means,

reversing the direction of travel of said sewing machine, and effectingstarting of the stitching operation of the sewing machine on itsreversed travel at a point nearer to the adjacent edge of the blanketplies than the point of termination of the last-formed row of stitching.

17. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket material plies in slightlyspaced, face-to-face relationship with the edges ofsaid portions inpredetermined juxtaposition, said supported portions extending from sideto side of the plies, thereby to facilitate the introduction of anelectrical conductor between said plies and inter-attachment of thelatter along `said edges, and means for successively advancing theblanket plies to present successive portions of said plies to saidsupporting means.

18. In apparatus' of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in slightly spaced,face-to-face relationship with the edges of said portions inpredetermined juxtaposition, said portions extending from side to sideof said plies, a sewing machine operative to stitch through only a partof the thickness of said plies at said edges to thereby unite saidplies, means supporting said sewing machine for movement along saidjuxtaposed edges, and means for actuating said sewing machine andpropelling the same along said edges.

19. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forsupporting portions of a pair of blanket plies in slightly spaced,face-to-face relationship with the edges of said portions inpredetermined juxtaposition, said portions extending from side to sideof said plies, a sewing machine operative to stitch through only a partof the thickness of said plies at said edges to thereby unite saidplies, means supporting said sewing machine for movement along saidjuxtaposed edges, means for actuating said sewing machine and propellingthe same along said edges, and means for successively advancing theblanket Vplies predetermined amounts so as to position successiveportions of said plies on said supporting means, and so as to presentsuccessive portion edges vfor interattachment by said sewing machine.

CHARLES E. JOHNSON. EDWARD E. WOLLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent: f

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 595,090 Arbes Dec. 7, 18971,248,236 Yates Nov. 27, 1917 1,320,457 De Voe Nov. 4, 1919 1,506,261Sievers Aug. 26, 1924 1,588,132 Mueller June 8, 1926 1,653,309Postlewait Dec. 20, 1927 1,825,597 Maier et al Sept. 29, 1931 2,059,845Bowersox Nov. 3, 1936 2,136,781 Brussell Nov. 15, 1938 2,336,404 KellyDec. 7, 1943

